Felt punching machine



June 11, 1935. R. s. PHILLIPS FELT PUNCHING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 guwi gw ATTORNEYS INVENTOR June 11, 1935. R. s. PHILLIPS FELT PUNCHING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY fMS' ATTORNEYJ R. S. PHILLIPS FELT PUNCHING MACHINE June 11, 1935..

Filed March 20, 1933 4 she ts-sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented June 11, 1935 FELT PUNCHING MACHINE Robert S. Phillips, Chicago, Ill., assignor to American Hair & Felt Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application March 20, 1933, Serial No. 661,671

6 Claims.

The invention relates to felt punching ma-- chines.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a. felt punching machine in which the movin parts thereof are substantially free of vibration.

To this end the present machine embodies a movable needle board and a movable base board or bolster, these parts moving toward and away from each other and acting to balance each other so that there is no'appreciable vibration. This construction greatly reduces the weight of the machine over those of the prior art so that the machine may be installed without the special foundations required for the usual heavy ma chines and hence may be operated on the upper floor of a building. Also by the present arrangement the total movement of the reciprocating parts is cut in two and the movement of these parts together with the use of a fixed stripper plate or board gives better and greater needle penetration than is possible withthe' usual machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine which, even though light in weight,'is capable of producing uniformly punched felt in widths exceeding one hundred and twenty inches and having weights up totwenty-four ounces per square foot. The manufacture of material in width and weights, as specified above, has only been possible heretofore with extremely ponderous and costly apparatus. Arcording to the present invention, deflection of the needle board or bolster is, in each instance, prevented by its connection at inwardly spaced points with a sepouter ends.

A further object of the invention is to provide a punching machine which takes considerably less power to operate than that required for the usual machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide a needling or punching machine in which the bolster reciprocates so that it produces slack in the material which facilitates the feeding of the same through the machine. a

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of a machine embodying the invention, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section;

Fig.2 is an end elevation view of the machine, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section; I

aratepower beam which takes the drive at its Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail transverse sectionalview taken on the line 3'-3 of Fig. 1

Fig. 4 'is an enlarged detail horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; parts being broken away; 5

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail horizontal sectional View taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 2, parts being broken away;

Fig. 6 is a detail side elevation view of one of the working beams; I

' Fig. '7 is adetail sectional view taken on the line 7-4 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing certain -modifications, parts being broken away;

Fig. 9 is a detail sectionalview taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8; e i Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view line Ill-+10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a detail sectional view taken on the taken on the line Il--ll of Fig. 8'. 2

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral l5 designates generally the end standards, which are rigidly connected together at their top portions by the. angle members l6, at their medial portions by the angle members I! and at their lower ends by the channel members l8. These standards include two sets of frame members, each set including a pair of spaced square frame members A9.

The needle board 20, having the'usual barbed needles 2| mounted therein, is adapted to be secured to the bottom plate member 22 of a needleboard supporting beam by channel clamping strips 23, having one of their flanges engaging the board and the other provided with a plurality of set screws 24 arranged at spacedpoints and engageable with the member 22, a filler board 25 being interposed between the member 22 and the needle board to facilitate removal of the board. I As shown in Figs. 1 to 7, the supporting beam iricludes a pair of spaced channels 26 whose lower flanges are welded or otherwise suitably rigidly secured to the plate member 22 and whose upper flanges are similarly secured'to a plate member 21. A power beam 28 extends lengthwise of and between the channels 26 and projects beyond the same. At spaced points this beam 28 has wear plates 29 secured thereto to take the wear occa sioned by the relative movement between said beam and the channels 26., This-power beam is connected to the needle-board supporting beam at inwardly spaced points, here shown as at the quarter poi'nts,by the bolts 3|], each bolt passing throughwear plates 3| secured to-the channels 26 and through said. channels, the power beam and a pair of its wear plates 29. The needleboard supporting beam is guided in its up and downmovements by the sliding engagement of the angled guide members 32 and 33 similar to the guide members 44 and 46 shown in detail in Fig. 5, with the inner frame members l9 at each end of the machine, each of said guide members having suitable wear surface portions 34.

The bolster or base board 36 is adjustably secured by jack screws 36 to a plate member 31 of a bolster board supporting beam. This beam is similar to the needle-board supporting beam previously described and includes the spaced channels 36 whose upper flanges are welded or otherwise suitably rigidly secured to the plate member 31 and whose lower flanges are similarly secured to a plate member 39. A power beam 46 extends lengthwise of and between the channels- 36 and projects beyond the same. At spaced points this beam 46 has wear plates 4| secured thereto similar to the wear plates 29 and for a similar purpose. This power beamis connected to the bolster board supporting beam atinwardly spaced points, here shown as at the quarter points, by the bolts 42, each bolt passing through said channels, the power beam and a pair of its wear plates 4|. The s pporting beam for the bolster is guided in its up and down movements by the sliding engagement of angled guide members 44 and 45 with the inner frame members |9 at each end of the machine, each of said guide members having suitable wear surface portions secured thereto.

From the foregoing description of each of the main reciprocating parts of the machine it will be noted thateach includes a supporting beam and a power beam secured to said supporting beam inwardly of its ends and preferably at or about the quarter points thereof whereby deflections of the needle board or the bolster are prevented since these deflections may be taken up by those portions of the power beam which are connected to the supporting beam atsaid points and take the drive at their outer ends. This construction also prevents objectionable vibrations occurring in the needle board or bolster.

The construction shown in Figs. 6to 11 inclusive shows certain modifications in the beam construction for the needle-board or the bolster and has certain advantages over the first described construction. In this instance the supporting beam is formed of a single I beam 46 having the plate member 41 secured thereto at one end to which the needle-board or the bolster may be connected as in the first described construction. The power beam here comprises a pair of frame members 46 which are held in position relative to the beam 46 by-the bars 49 whose flanges are secured to the flanges of the beam 46 by the rivets 56 and which are held in operative contact, with the beam 46 at inwardly spaced points, here shown at the quarter points, by wedges 6|, said wedges being interposed between the flanges 62 of the beam 46 and the adjacent edge of the power beam, said wedges being secured in position in each instance by the set screw 63 adjustably mounted in a bracket 64 having a riveted or other suitable connection with the flange of said beam 46, said-screw being secured in'adjusted position by thelock-nut 66. Thus,

.if there should byany deflection of the parts .lfioform ..Jheqeoumsbesmm'mhiflnrmm li e -4r .i'vmmmmfitrmlmummiehaomfmfirrmaemmymoflrcI t'iiornlnmlrmtlleisltaticcclaeiatevcetlitmmidst-appoints auditlitshoswlediebll amyevlmitlietieldiolfrthhststnm nar I1 I f: nonzctioir l u iitlij it til: 5 upnrplti-o n gt (mm c ,t kid: a g (11:3; ambit; momma 1 1x 3, mush ',p1mrflr mmm 5 mm :seoua:roaommiaiteitlmsimovcmmuamlms nI mamutviwsidiauawrl'omitlitmisemi. ll'rnie iareitilnm wear can be readily taken up by the adjustment of the set screws 63.

A yokemember 56 is secured to each end of I the power beam 26 for the needle board and a similar yoke member 51 is secured to each end of the power beam 46 for the bolster while in the modified form the outer ends of the spaced members 46 have the yoke members 66 secured thereto.

A drive shaft 66, formed of shaft sections suitably coupled together, has end portions journalled in bearings 66 in the standards and carries a pulley 6| for connection with any suitable source of power. This shaft 69 has eccentrics 62 and 63 formed thereon or connected thereto, a set of these eccentrics being disposed between the spaced parts of each standard l6.

. The yokes 61 at the ends of the power beam 46 carry pins 64 connected by the connecting rods 66 with the eccentrics 62 and the yokes 56 at the ends of the power beam 28 carry pins 66'connected by the connecting rods 6| with the eccentrics 63. Thus the ends of the beams are operatively connected with the shaft 59 through the connecting rods and eccentrics which will act to reciprocate the beams as the shaft 59 is rotated. The eccentrics 62 are displaced one-hundred and eighty degrees relative to the eccentrics 63 with the result that the parts driven thereby will move in opposite directions relative to each other. Thus the needle-board and the bolster are reciprocated toward and away from each other and the space between these parts when at theirpoint of closest approach may be varied by. adjusting the lengths of the adjustable connecting rods 66, 61 and to some extent by the adjustment of the jack-screws 36. Further adjustment may be provided in a manner known to the art by making'the eccentrics 62 and 63 of the adjustable type.

A stripper grid or board 66 is pendantly supported from the fixed frame of the machine by a plurality of rods 69 secured to their lower ends to opposite sides of said board at spaced points and at their upper ends detachably connected by the nuts I6 to frame members II secured to the tie members II. This grid has diagonally disposed openings or slots 12 formed therein to accommodate the passage of the needles 2|.

The bolster 36 is also in the form of a grid fibrous bat B, either with or without reinforcement, is conveyed between the bolster 35 and the stripper grid 66 by any suitable means, such as a conveyor 14 for example as shown in Fig. 3. While the bat is slowly fed through the machine, the shaft 69 is rotated causing the oscillatory or reciprocatory movement of the power beams 26 and 46 and consequently the needle board 26 and the bolster 35 respectively connected to said beams as previously described. During this movement the bolster 36 moves up toward the stripper grid 66 compressing the bat between these parts and as said bolstermovesupwardly the needle board 20 moves downwardly forcing the needles 2| into and through the bat so that the fibres thereof are efliciently interlockedwith each other and then as the bolster 36 moves is repeated with great rapidity so that the stock as it leaves the machine, as on a conveyor 15, has its fibres efficiently interlocked together through the needling or punching operation. Furthermore, as the needle board and its parts are balanced relatively to the bolster and its parts, and their movements counteract or balance each other there is no appreciable vibration from these parts and as the stripper is fixed there is no vibration from it so that the machine works very smoothly and can be made of relatively light weight and to accommodate the various widths of material desired.

It is to be noted that a fixed lower beam or bolster gives a fixed opening between the beam and the fixed stripper grid which is too narrow to permit entrance of a bat which is not being carried in by riding on a supporting sheet of say burlap. The present development of a lower beam which moves up and down makes it possible to greatly increase this opening without sacrificing any of the penetration of the needles. This additional space allows the incoming bat to easily reach the point under the needles where the bat is knitted into felt by the action of the thrust of the barbed needles. The bat need not be carried through the machine on the usual supporting burlap sheet and it is then possible to make a felt without the usual required reinforcement. The resulting cost of felt is greatly reduced, and the waste of using an equal footage of burlap in the felt is eliminated. As a bolster moves down after each punching operation, a certain amount of slack is produced in the material which facilitates the feeding of the same through the machine.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are included in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a felt-punching machine, the combination of a movable needle-board, a movable bolster, means for reciprocating said needle-board, means for reciprocating said bolster in a, direction opposite to that of said needle-board-whereby said needle board and bolster movie-toward and away from each other, and a stripper grid cooperating with said needle-board and bolster, and with respect to which grid said last named parts are relatively movable.

2. In a punch-felting machine, the combination of a reciprocatory needle-board and its 7 needles, means for moving said needle-board, a fixed stripper grid for said needles, a reciprocatory bolster, means for moving said bolster to compress the stock between it and said grid as the needles are forced through the stock and to move said supporting beam and provided with driving I connections.

4. In a felt-punching machine, the combina-- tion of a needle-board, a needle-board supporting beam, a power beam secured to said supporting beam at spaced points inwardly of the ends of the'latter and permitting deflection of said power beam without deflecting said supporting beam, means connected with the ends of said power beam for reciprocating it, a bolster, a

bolster supporting beam, a power beam secured to said bolster supporting beam at spaced points inwardly of the ends of the latter and permitting deflection of said last named power beam without deflecting said bolster supporting beam, means connected with the ends of the power beam for said bolster for 'reciprocating it in a direction opposite to that of the first named power beam,

and a stripper grid cooperatingwith board and bolster.

5. In a felt punching machine, the combination of a supporting beam for one of the workengaging parts and extending lengthwise of the machine, a power beam extending lengthwise of said supporting beam, wedges securing said beams said needletogether at spaced'points inwardly of the ends of said supporting beam and permitting deflection of said power beam without deflecting said supporting beam, said power beamhaving its ends extending beyond said supporting beam and provided with driving connections.

6. In a felt-punching machine, the combination of a drive shaft, a movable needle-board,-

driving connections between said shaft and said needle-board for reciprocating the latter, a movable bolster, driving connections between said shaft and said bolster for reciprocating said bolster in a direction opposite'to that of said needle-board, the weight of saidv needle-board and its driving connections substantiallyconnteracting that of said bolster and its driving connections, and a stripper grid cooperating with said needle-board and bolster,,and with respect to which grid saidlast named parts are relativ'ely movable. u

ROBERT s. Pmmrs. 

